Trolling is a commonly used fishing procedure with particular utility in fishing for salmon or several of the trout species such as rainbow trout and brown trout. Trolling involves the dragging of a lure, bait or hook behind a slowly moving boat. Often the waters being trolled are very shallow and have good clear water visibility. Trout and salmon are well known to be boat-shy fish and consequently are generally frightened by the approaching boat and move to one side or the other to allow the boat to pass.
In an attempt to avoid this problem, it has been known to troll behind a boat with a very long length of line so to give the fish an opportunity to swim back into the line of trolling. Unfortunately, this then presents a further problem. The intrinsic stretchability of the extremely long length of line makes it difficult if not impossible to set the hook by suddenly jerking the line in a conventional manner.
These difficulties have heretofore been clearly recognized and attempts have been made to overcome them by the use of devices known as side-planers or planer-boards. Such a known device comprises a unit which is lowered into the water and attached to the boat by a line or cable. As the boat travels through the water, the planer cable is let out and the planer board moves into a position spaced some distance away from the boat and generally slightly behind the boat. The fishing line is attached to the planer board cable by an attachment means or a releasable clip which slides along the planer board cable until it reaches the planer board. The fishing line then extends from the boat out to the planer board and then rearwardly from the planer board to the hook. In this way, the hook is now travelling through the area of the water to which the fish have moved to avoid the boat. When a fish strikes the lure, the hook is easily set since the pressure exerted on the hook through the short length of line between the lure and the releasable clip is sufficient so to do. As soon as the pull on the line by the combined action of the fish and the forward movement of the planar board reaches a predetermined value, the clip automatically releases the line and the fisherman is then free to play and eventually land the fish.
While these known devices have improved a fisherman's chances of success in trolling, they unfortunately present further practical problems. In the first place, there is a great risk of the fishing line becoming entangled with the planer board cable while the fisherman is attempting to land the fish. To avoid this danger, it is customary to attempt to retrieve the planer board by winding it in on its cable as soon as the fishing line has been been released from the clip. Side planers are, however, very difficult to bring in since as they are drawn toward the boat, they resist such action and tend to move forwardly and often end up going around the front of the boat. Consequently, it is generally considered necessary to have two people in the boat - one to play the fish on the line and the other to bring in the planer board as quickly as possible to avoid entanglement of its cable by the fishing line.
Yet another practical problem with the use of planer boards, is that it is difficult to turn the boat from a straight path. For example, if the boat is turned toward the planer board, the cable will become slack and the planer board will simply lie motionless in the water until the slack in the cable is eliminated. On the other hand, if the boat is turned away from the planer board, the speed of the latter will greatly increase and the tension on the clip may be sufficient to result in premature undesired release of the fishing line from the clip.
It will now be understood that, while planer boards have greatly improved the art of trolling to a very considerable degree, their use still presents certain practical difficulties.
It is accordingly an important object of this invention to provide an improved fishing apparatus which is especially suited for use in trolling.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a fishing apparatus which, when used in trolling, eliminates many if not all of the problems encountered in the use of planer boards resulting from the possible entanglement of the fishing line with the planer board cable.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description herein proceeds.